Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 297 Darkwell's Departure
Lu Ze walked through the muddy, slippery roads in the eastern district.

He changed into a dark black robe, his face hidden under a hood.

The winter afternoon was pale and unbearable. A homeless man huddled in a sheltered corner, staring blankly at the sky, as if praying that the sun would pierce the clouds and bring some warmth upon him. The clanging of a horse-drawn carriage left ruts, and the splashes of mud sent passersby scrambling to avoid it.

Looking up, the factory chimneys in the distance were shrouded in gray-white mist, barely visible.

Lu Ze silently observed everything before him, his steps never faltering, until he stopped at a herbal medicine shop in front of a famous red-light district in the East.

"Squeak-"

Pushing open the door, a strong smell of herbs filled the air. Before my eyes stretched a ceiling-high display of various herbs, cabinets, and utensils. An owl perched on a wooden shelf in front of the counter, its large, pale yellow eyes fixed intently on Lu Ze.

"Welcome. Oh, it's you."

The fat pharmacist Darkwell walked out from behind, his voice trailing off, but he lost interest when he saw it was Luze.

"The usual, one serving of all kinds of medicine."

"Lu Ze said, his eyes lingering on the owl. He easily detected the extraordinary aura emanating from this owl."

Darkwell is quite wealthy, keeping an extraordinary creature as a pet. Luze pondered, his eyes meeting those of the owl, who nonchalantly turned its head 180 degrees, avoiding his gaze.

"Everything is prepared for you."

Darkwell rummaged under the counter and pulled out a medicine packet wrapped in thick paper. "Still the same price."

"Ah."

Lu Ze paid the price as previously agreed.

"I said, Miss Cecilia hasn't come in a long time."

"It would be ridiculous if you went out for a walk and suddenly fell ill, collapsing in a ditch," Darkwell said.

The fat pharmacist may have been trying to express his concern, but the words he used were really not very good.

"Thank you for your extra concern."

Lu Ze said calmly, slamming the money on the table. The loud thud startled even the owl.

Darkwell was unaware that Cecilia was dead, and even the object of his admiration was merely a phantom conjured by Luzer in his madness. Luzer had no intention of telling him, because that was the extent of their interaction.

However, inevitably, his already bad mood became even more gloomy when Darkwell mentioned his sister.

"Hey, I'm leaving here."

Just as he picked up his bag to leave, the portly pharmacist spoke again, "I wrote down the prescriptions for these medicines on paper and put them in the medicine bag. You can get them from other pharmacies yourself in the future."

Is Darkwell leaving?

Lu Ze looked up at him and asked, "You have gambling debts?"

"of course not!"

Darkwell said, "I've been here quite a while. If I linger any longer, someone will notice something's wrong and report me."

"Moreover,"

He glanced subconsciously at the owl on the wooden shelf, "It's time for me to advance further in my own sequence."

It's good that the pharmacist is gone.

Lu Ze thought that if he stayed any longer, he might one day discover that his sister didn't actually exist, and suffer an even greater blow. Leaving like this might leave him with a beautiful memory. Before leaving, he glanced at the owl one last time, then pushed open the door of the herbal shop and left.

Carrying the herbs, Lu Ze walked for a while and arrived at a dark alley in the eastern district. There, a considerable number of people had already gathered, most of them bearing obvious injuries.

"Dear missionary, you have finally arrived!"

"Jack, you're saved!"

Upon seeing him, people became excited on a small scale.

This is the place where Lu Ze used to treat people for free. Back then, in order to play the role of the Rose Bishop, he tried to open a secret medical point here to provide free medical care to the people of the East District.

Later, although the "Rose Bishop's" potion was not digested, his habit of providing free medical care remained. And the more people he saved, the deeper the respect the poor of the East End held for him—which greatly facilitated his later missionary work.

"Stand still, and follow the previous rules. One by one, with those who are more seriously injured going first."

Lu Ze said to them.

His voice carried an irresistible magic, quickly restoring order to the previously chaotic group. With his assistant no longer there to maintain order, Luze was left to rely entirely on himself.

The alleyway was still divided into cubicles made of cloth, just like always. Lu Ze's first patient was a child who was only 5 years old.

He was dressed in clothes that were clearly made from adult garments, his whole body covered in dirty coal dust, and he was holding his broken arm as he looked at Lu Ze. The white bone fragments broke through his dark skin and were exposed to the air.

My skin is so dark.
"How is this going?"

Lu Ze asked the man who had brought him in.

"Sir missionary, his name is Oliver. He was cleaning the chimney when the rope broke, and he fell and broke his arm."

The man bowed and scraped as he said, "He was very lucky; his arm blocked the fall, otherwise his neck would have been broken."

There were several dried white streaks on the child's dark face, probably tear stains. He seemed to have cried himself to exhaustion, looking somewhat numb.

Clean the chimney
Lu Ze looked at the short child and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Furthermore, due to the climate of Backlund, fireplaces became a necessity in every household. Over time, soot would accumulate, leading to poor ventilation, insufficient fire intensity, and even posing a danger. However, the biggest problem with these fireplaces embedded in the wall was that the flues were difficult to clean.

The task of cleaning chimneys usually fell to children from poor families. Due to the size of the chimneys, only children a few years old could squeeze inside and thoroughly clean them.

For the poor, this is an extra source of income, allowing their children, who simply consume money, to also bring in income for the family; for families with fireplaces, hiring children costs less money and is more convenient.

As for the children working there, they not only have to crawl into the dark and long chimneys, but also struggle to maintain a working posture for more than ten hours a day. Furthermore, they may face the risk of falling, and prolonged work can lead to physical deformities, with coal ash eroding their lungs and causing irreversible lung damage.
However, children from poor families don't live long anyway, so it's always good if they can help their families as early as possible.

All I can say is that this is truly the great Backlund, the Backlund that prioritizes value and efficiency above all else. As long as it makes money, they can squeeze every last drop out of even a child this age.

"I see."

Lu Ze took a deep breath and walked up to the child.

"what's your name?"

he asks.

Oliver.

The child answered, sniffing.

(End of this chapter)